Endorsements: Senger for GOP nomination for Congress, 11th District

A hotly contested race is under way for the Republican nomination to take on incumbent Democrat Bill Foster in the 11th Congressional District. Of the four candidates still in the race - a fifth has dropped out - state Rep. Darlene Senger of Naperville is the best choice.

Senger, a three-term legislator in Springfield, has the legislative and political know-how needed in Congress. While decidedly conservative in most social and fiscal issues, she also has taken politically risky votes that her opponents classify only as tax increases. One such vote was a capital bill that led to the needed construction now ongoing at Route 59 and I-88 in her Naperville district. Senger also was a key player in working across the aisle as the state legislature worked toward a pension bill that she ultimately supported.

Of the other three contestants, we are impressed with Bert Miller of Hinsdale, the owner of Phoenix Closures Inc., in Naperville. He, like Senger, realizes that to be effective you must be wiling to work with others with whom you may not always agree. But Senger gains an advantage for her breadth of knowledge needed to represent this district. Also running are Chris Balkema of Channahon a Grundy County Board member, and Ian Bayne, a private detective from Aurora.